Chapter 1
Under the heavy rain, a shady man in his raincoat is watching over a hotel. He looks at it in the same way as someone with an intention of revenge.
Full of hostility, disgust, and anger residing under the mask. "Based on the information, this hotel is known as a Black Circle. A suspicious building that is rumored to be filled with assassins and killers around Norland City."
'Just a bit longer and I can avenge you, sis.' This man had this thought.
***
Tap – tap – tap
Jason Hayes is tapping his finger at the same time he's admiring the scenery that is made by heavy rain from outside his office.
Tapping on something has always been his way to show his uneasiness. This time, anxiety with a slight hint of fear has also breached through his charismatic face.
A result of thinking about many possibilities that might happen in the future. The source of this uneasiness is nothing but the arrival of Jason’s late brother in his dream.
'Next May 13th will mark the ten years of Gary’s death.' The last memory Jason had of Gary coughing up blood before his death has kept appearing every night since last week.
"Truly a wonderful sight to witness the atmosphere around Norland City. Unlike the usually quiet city, the strong rain that is coming down tonight has made the whole city louder. Tonight, it could be the best stage prepared by God to eliminate any target without leaving any noise." Mumble Jason Hayes while walking closer to the window.
In the midst of his affectionate thoughts about the rain, some small footsteps are stamping on the floor and approaching Jason’s office.
As one of the chosen assassins to become the Owner of Black Circle, this kind of little skill to identify enemies from footsteps is included in his resume.
He is not worried, because he already knows who is coming at him. 'She has returned, it seems.' Think Jason with a smirk on his face.
"Jason, I’m coming in." a feminine voice echoed behind the door. Thus, a slender girl with sharp greenish eyes is making her entrance.
"After three years, you finally have returned to Selina?" Jason asks, slightly turning his body while keeping his hand in his pocket.
"Yes, Jason. I have come to report the result." Selina replied in a cold voice.
"I am so disappointed to hear the same cold tone you used to speak with strangers. Not to mention after your long departure, Selina." tease Jason.
"Would you prefer I speak with my guns and knife instead?"
What Selina has said to Jason leave him in an awkward position. It has been ten years since he adopted Selina, yet he still has no idea how to make her smile like any ordinary girl.
"I prefer listening to your report, Selina," replied Jason.
'Why is he trying so hard to do something he’s bad at?' she thought of Selina in her mind. "Among the five targets on my list, there is one individual whose skills didn’t match the information given to me."
"Has that person piqued your interest?" Jason asked while being intrigued.
"Not really… Although she might possess decent skills, a woman named Jasmine Brainer is still far from being a match for me."
"Any possibility to connect her with the old administrator?"
"I doubt it Jason, no matter how skilled Jasmine Brainer is with a dagger. She is nevertheless an amateur, thanks to her sluggish flow and appalling experienced. Not to mention the gibberish she has spouted about separating her brother from herself.”
"You have worked well, Selina." Jason said with a slight smirk. “You can come back home for now or leave with your friends to shop-"
"I have no friends and don’t need any Jason." Selina cuts in and does not let Jason finish his word.
"A stroll in the evening won’t hurt... right?"
"Under this heavy rainstorm? Something must be wrong with your head, Jason."
Jason said nothing and quietly turned himself to meet the spectacle outside the building under the violent rainfall.
"Sigh… You might be right, Selina. There is something amiss with my mind that drives me to feel anxious."
Selina looks hesitant at first before asking, "Is it another dream about my dad?"
"Yes, I am afraid. Gary showed up in my dream like ten years ago, yet like ten years ago, I could not do anything to save him."
"Stop condemning yourself, Jason!" Selina added. "It has been ten years since the accident. There’s nothing you can do about my dad’s death."
"You won’t understand Selina!" Jason shouted a bit louder. "The quarrel I have with Gary... your dad, right before he has gone, keeps tormenting me. If only I didn’t force my ambition on him, he might be able to see how splendid of a woman his girl has matured into."
"I do..." Selina’s tone sounds shaking. "I do know that my dad will be thankful for what you did for me, Jason."
Jason looks at Selina with a drained face, "Let’s end this here, Selina. Do as I suggested and go outside for a moment."
"As you wish, Jason." Selina leaves the room in the same quiet manner as she did while entering Jason’s office.
Once again, loneliness and misery are the particular friends Jason has to accompany him while watching the rain outside.
Or so he hoped until calls rang through his cell phone. "Speak," said Jason.
"Sir, the administrators have all assembled here. They are questioning the reason for your absence here. Thus, I am afraid they will soon demand to leave the council chamber if you are not showing up."
"I’ll be there in a minute, just make sure those annoying hags sit still until then," replied Jason. He leaves in a rush with notions of being agitated.
It takes no time for Jason to show up at the chamber, but rage is the one emotion he can communicate with. As he finds no one is in there, not even those who pledge themselves to be on Jason’s side.
"I instructed him to make sure those administrators remained, yet I discovered myself to be alone here," Jason mumbles to himself.
Jason fell into his thoughts and failed to notice the existence of another individual behind his tail.
He could only realize it after someone pointed a gun behind the back of his head.
"Who are you?" asks Jason. He decides to at least make his opponent not recognize his loss of composure.
"You realize who I am… Owner." Whisper the unknown man to Jason. "I am amazed at how simple it is to have your back showing up to me."
"Those administrators hags sent you here?" asked Jason, to startle time.
"Your old administrator to be specific. They assigned me to say hello before coming back to Black Circle."
"You sound confident in your talent. I expected you to have some experience in this nasty business."
"You said too much for someone who is about to die-"
Jason turns his body to engage in a fight with the assassin and tries to disarm his weapon with a kick.
The assassin reacted with an attempt to secure a similar blow at Jason’s risk. Jason bounced from the jolt and fell to the ground.
At the same moment, the assassin was deciding to get his gun to end Jason’s struggle.
Knowing that the assassin let his guard down for the sake of his gun, Jason confronted him. Grant him a chance to reach for the gun and execute the assassin.
"Nice effort, but not sufficient to kill me," Jason continued.
When Jason thinks he has shifted the situation, he prepares himself to put a hole in the assassin’s skull.
He feels a strange numb sensation on his neck like a mild pain brought by a bee’s sting.
Moments afterward, blood fell from his mouth and nose before landing on his knees and passing away.
"I don’t call for your support, Shadow!" declared the assassin with a furious tone.
Another individual appears from the shadows to reply to the first assassin’s disapproval.
"We have been assigned to get rid of the Black Circle’s Owner as quickly as possible, Light. Yet you try your luck to challenge the infamous Jason Hayes instead and emerge in utter failure." Defend the shadow.
Light was furious at shadow’s answer. As a known assassin, there is the pride he wants to protect and skill he wants to prove by killing the Owner of the Black Circle, who is recognized as one of the great killers.
"Hold your resentment somewhere." shadow added. “Let’s get out of this place and announce the accomplishment to our employer.”
Like a breeze, they disappear from the council chamber and leave Jason’s body as it is to be seen by people.
A woman is standing still on the rooftop, close enough to witness how Jason Hayes breathed his last.
Not long after both Light and Shadow arrive in front of her, "The mission is finished, elder. The target has been successfully eliminated according to your will." said Shadow.
"Yes... you have eliminated Jason Hayes, or you are about to be eliminated by him," she replied.
"Forgive us, elder, we…-"
"I do not wish to talk about your reckless judgment Light," she added. "Now the four of you can return to the position you belong to in Black Circle."
Four figures emerge from the dark, answering her call.
***
You have received an email
An image appears on every person’s cell phone that associates themselves with the Black Circle.
From the Black Circle
Subject: Jason Hayes
Black Circle is now open to testing the candidates for the next throne owner. The selection will be held a week after the funeral ceremony of the current Owner, Jason Rudeus Hayes.
Fellow associates with the Black Circle are requested to pay respect at the Black Fountain.
Selina’s hand is shaking and her face is starting to look paler than usual. She was outside the hotel to honor Jason’s will yet Selina learned about his death from a message.
"I cannot believe this… There is no way Jason died in a suspicious way like this."
‘He must have been killed. But why did the administrator announce it like a tragedy?’ Selina pondered. "I have to meet the administrator and ask for the truth."
Chapter 2 To investigate the truth of Jason’s death announcement, Selina relies on her speed to take her back into the Black Circle building and have an audience with the administrator. "Where are they? The administrators… WHERE ARE THEY?" shout Selina. Selina does not waste her time and shouting to know the nearest administrator’s location. "Miss Hayes, I have to warn you that your rude behavior is starting to trouble those who are remembering Jason here." announced one employee, struggling to silence her. "It is surprising to have you give up all the composure you have." He continued. "If you keep acting like this, Miss Selina Hayes, I'm going to have to ask you out of this building." "Move... or I will have you down with my dagger!" threatens Selina. "Selina Hayes, behave yourself!! A woman is approaching Selina with a disapproving gesture. "You are not the owner and hold no right to do as you wish here.
Chapter 3 Light's taunting words about Jason Haye's success made Selina loosen her grapple. He takes advantage of her confusion to lift Selina by using his sheer force to slam her to the ground. Selina's intuition warns her about the possible impact of Light's countermeasure against her move. The moment her back almost made contact with the ground, she let go of her grapple and rolled backward. "What do you mean by that Light? Answer me!" yells Selina, demanding an explanation from him. Giggles~ "Do I have to make it simpler, Miss Hayes?" Light seems to enjoy Selina's state of mind. "It was I who killed the Owner of Black Circle, Jason Hayes. That was a great fight to remember."
Chapter 4 “Your shattered plate,” she says. Selina responded to the question. “WHAT?! Selina, how are you going to shatter them? “You requested that I place them here, but you never mentioned that you would not shatter them.” With Selina's stupid logic, Axel is hiding his face. He thinks it's better to let this girl die on the road than to see her break her palate at this stage. Selina, on the other hand, has remained vigilant. Axel's knowledge of the Black Circle could put her in danger. “What are you doing near Black Circle, a man like you?” asks Selina “I just got off work and am heading home. What else do you think I did at 2 in the morning?” The response came from Selina. “Trust is a valuable commodity in Norland City. “I need to double-check that you're not associating yourself with Black Circle.” “I'm not sure what your business with them is, but as a former cop, I strongly advise you to
Chapter 5 “Ugh… My head is throbbing. I saved her life, and this is how she repays me: by giving me a knock and causing me to collapse in my own home.” Axel was irritated. Axel tries to stand up despite the fact that his body is trembling from the knockout after effect. To sober up, he walks slowly to the kitchen and washes his face. Splash, splash. “Brrrr… The water is way so cold; I wonder what time it is right now. “ Axel raised his eyes to the clock; it was eight o'clock in the evening. “Great, I was unconscious for twelve hours and then had to go to work in this horrible state. Luckily, I had requested two days off from the bar beforehand; otherwise, I would not have been able to work properly there. It's all for the purpose of this once-in-a-lifetime invitation.” Axel reaches inside his kitchen drawer and pulls out a black envelope. The signature sign of Black Circle can be seen on this envelope.
Chapter 6 She pulls daggers from her sleeves and approaches Axel with caution. Axel, on the other hand, eventually gives up on trying to persuade Selina. “I don't have a choice.” Axel chimed in. Stabbing - swinging - stabbing! Selina decides to take initiative to go first and attack Axel. Her quick movements gave her a huge advantage. With no way to defend himself, Axel is forced to simply dodge the attacks. 'Why are all of her attacks so difficult to understand? If this continues, my neck will soon leave my body.' He mumbles. Stab - swing - stab! Drip. “Your left cheek has turned redder than usual, Axel,” Selina mocked. He wipes his left cheek to check the extent of the wound caused from Selina's attack. ‘I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad about this wound. The wound is healed, but who knows what poison she has on her dagger?’ Axel's left cheek is swollen from the att
Chapter 7 Axel's eyes were glowing with a faithful look, out of nowhere he has received a new chance to get the information he wants. “What caused your sudden change of heart, Axel?” Selina mulls over something. “I have my own reasoning, Selina, so stop your chit-chat and let's get down to business.” Selina's cold stares have given way to an ambitious demeanor. She jots down everything that comes to mind in order to support her ideal plan. “As you wish, Axel. We will begin from understanding Raisen’s personality; based on what I have learned about her, Raisen is very obsessed with being respected. Unfortunately, no matter how much respect you show towards her, the way she looks at you does not change. Unless and until you have her approval or trust, the contract agreement between two of you will always be at the mercy of Raise’s hand.” Like an oracle Selina describing Raisen way of treating people by thinking she is ab
Chapter 8 With fatigues from the previous fight still clinging to Selina's body, she chooses to ignore them by forcing herself to visit the warehouse. She chose to disregard the fact that she was strolling around between night and dusk; everything was required for Raiser's doom to fall. Slide--- Selina casts a glance inside the warehouse she has opened, the same place that will soon be transformed into a battleground. 'This place is more spacious than last time I remember.' Jingling~ Jingling~ Sudden loud noises of chains colliding with each other's caused Selina to flinch and pull out her dagger. 'What was that noise?' She walks closer to inspect the chains after realizing the sou
Chapter 9 “It will not be an easy task. However, I must find an opportunity to spy on this enigmatic elder to learn more about Daddy and Jason’s past.” Selina walks outside the Black Circle, relying solely on her luck. With the hope of seeing the enigmatic elder there. She considers returning to the same hiding area she used the day before to watch for Shadow’s activity, which could lead her to the man she had hoped to see again. ‘Even Shadow, a one-of-a-kind assassin, can make mistakes, and I should be patient to see it.’ Selina merges in with her surroundings in an instant, listening to any kind of talk and waiting for even the tiniest movement of Shadow. *** Shadow, who is reporting to the elder in his hideout, has already picked up on Selina’s presence. “Does she happen to be someone on our target list, Shadow?” “She was elder, before Light and I killed her in response to the Black Circle’s statemen